Hearing protection with biscuit jointer

[Doug Miller]

A couple of years ago I bought an impact-rated face shield, and have never regretted it. [Almost never. *] It is _so_easy_ to put on, that there is just no excuse for not wearing it, even in situations where it doesn't seem to be needed. Emphasis on "seem", BTW. Earlier this month, I was notching a board on the band saw. Pretty safe, right? Somehow, the offcut snagged on the blade and came flying toward me and WHACK! hit the face shield right in front of my nose.

A bonus to the face shield is that my prescription glasses don't fog up.

[*] You gotta remember to flip it up if you feel a sneeze coming on. DAMHIKT.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[Toller]

You are quite correct in that. Studies have shown that loud rock music, which was supposed to leave all the baby-boomers deaf by 50, has had little effect. Apparently it is sudden noises, like gun shots, that do the damage. Continuous noise, like a router or music, is relatively harmless.

That said, I wear ear muffs with my lawnmower or router; usually not with my table saw.

[Silvan]

Whee. Thanks for that. Well, I try to avoid being in that situation in the first place, but I'm not about to tell my boss to put his seatbelt on. ;)

I just quietly dig it out of all the crap and fasten it, and he rolls his eyes at me.

Doesn't happen very often.

[Silvan]

Yeah, now, I'm the same way. If it's *my* car, I get to set the rules.

I had a nasty wreck as a kid. I got a seatbelt burn instead of a face full of glass and asphalt. I was a seatbelt wearer then, but I've been a lot more secure in my feeling that I'm doing the right thing ever since.

[Silvan]

Ewwwww. :)

I have one of those on the way, hopefully. I figure it's pretty much a mandatory piece of equipment when running a lathe.

[Luigi Zanasi]

On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 20:31:38 -0500, Silvan scribbled

I agree with Doug & Silvan. I also had a nasty wreck as a kid (20 years old). Lost my left eye and a couple of teeth when my faced smashed on the steering wheel because the belt did not lock. I also had a nasty diagonal bruise across my chest. I am very glad I got that bruise. This was before seat belts were compulsory, but, as I figured then, if Niki Lauda and Gilles Villeneuve could wear them, so could I, at least on the highway. Since then, I have religiously worn seat belts at all times in the car. It also convinced other members of my family and my friends to wear them. I would be dead rather than a one-eye-talian if I hadn't worn a seat belt that day in May 1977.

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" for real email address

[Chris Merrill]

I think my drill is the only power tool I don't use hearing protection with. And even then - only the little Makita. When I drag out the Milwaukee Magnum...I put on the ears.

[Doug Miller]

I got my introduction to the value of seat belts at age 13. I was a front-seat passenger in my cousin's VW Beetle, UNbelted, when we had a *very* minor accident. We were second in line at a traffic light; light turned green, guy ahead of us started to move, we started to move, bozo ran the red light, guy ahead of us stopped, we didn't. Not til we hit his bumper, anyway. We hadn't moved fifteen feet, couldn't have been going more than 5 mph tops, I'm sure. Just the same, I whacked my forehead on the windshield, and my nose on the dashboard. No injuries other than a bloody nose and a knot on my noggin, but it was enough to convince me. Never again have I ridden in a car without a seat belt.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[Charlie Self]

Long ago, though not all that far away, I had a similar experience. A friend spun his daddy's Puick after hitting a puddle (nothing like learning about hydroplaning the hard way), running us off the road and to a quick stop in mud. No real damage to vehicle or people, but I was concussed a bit and had a nose that changed the seat cover colors.

Trouble is, that was about '55 or '56, and it wasn't until '57 that Ford attempted (and failed) to introduce seat belts as an extra cost option. I hate the things, now, but I use them religiously.

Charlie Self

"Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal." Alexander Hamilton

[Wes Stewart]

[snip]

|Trouble is, that was about '55 or '56, and it wasn't until '57 that Ford |attempted (and failed) to introduce seat belts as an extra cost option. I hate |the things, now, but I use them religiously.

I installed seat belts in my '36 Ford in 1958. In AZ all front seat passengers are required to be belted. If they aren't the *driver* can be cited.

In accident cases were kids aren't in child seats the parents are routinely cited for child abuse. Unless they're illegal aliens of course and then they have more "rights" than us citizens.

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

Would you be so kind as to point us to that study?

Barry

[Chris]

I suffer from hearing loss as a result of an accident (surfing accident - no kidding!). Thus, I am pretty diligent about hearing protection. I wear ear plugs while riding my motorcycle. (Wind noise is prolonged 80+ decibles in the high frequency ranges that do the most hearing damage). By blocking out the high frequency noise (which are blocked effectively by hearing protection, I can hear the lower frequency noises better (car horns, truck engines, my OWN engin noises, etc) which are not affected as much by ear plugs.

I have found the effect similar in the workshop. I don't wear my ears all of the time, but ALWAYS while using my router (very loud and painful high pitch) and I can hear other noises better.

[Charles Spitzer]

so, standing next to a running jet engine would be, 'relatively harmless'?

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

Join me in the wait for a citation.

Barry

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 01:27:57 GMT, "Toller" brought forth from the murky depths:

Ask any doctor. Loud noises are bad for your hearing.

You are quite correct in that.

HUH? WHAT'D YOU SAY?

Someone'll give you 50:1 odds on that one. I lost some of my hearing when I worked as a mechanic at an auto body shop. A few days of those air hammers on sheet metal got to me. Unfortunately, I didn't have a pair of muffs so wads of toilet paper did the trick whenever I had to be in their noisy area. I finally got some ear plugs after that. After my back was injured, I lost more hearing to tinnitus from all the aspirin and NSAIDs I was taking. I still have the loss and the tinnitus. Suckage x2.

Put 'em on! I even wear ear plugs when I go on long drives. I've found that I arrive a lot fresher since the white noise doesn't wear me down as much.

That said, maybe someone can tell me where I can find more of the tapered ear plugs. Those I have are orange and very soft foam. I bought a box of the HFT plugs and they're like 80grit sandpaper and tough as leather. Anyone want some? I'm looking for the bell-shaped plugs with the very wide bottom/outside OD. I put them in backwards and they're much more comfy to sleep in, keeping out the sound of any barking dogs or trash trucks. __ / \ | | /____\ Ain't ascii great? Feh!

--- - Sarcasm is just one more service we offer. -

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[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 20:01:55 -0800, Luigi Zanasi brought forth from the murky depths:

Roger. That's a definite ouch. Sorry to hear that.

Soooo, if you wear a bifocal monocle, do we call ya 3-EYES?

Ditto here. My dad used to race Autocross and Gymkhana so he was used to belts. He made sure I installed them in my first car. Our insurance, USAA, also gave benefits for those wearing belts. It has been a habit since I was 8 or so.

I hear that. I'll bet you had fun while learning Greek mythology. 0-)

--- - Sarcasm is just one more service we offer. -

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[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

FWIW, this is an excellent idea while flying commercial. Many folks don't realize just how loud it really is in a jet, especially back in cattle class.

Years ago, I started wearing foam plugs while flying and I couldn't believe the difference. Try it next time.

Barry

[Charlie Self]

Larry Jaques asks:

Damned tinnitus is worse than the deafness, by far.

Try

check out the plugs they've got, and check out their "Where To Buy" listing.

Charlie Self

"Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal." Alexander Hamilton

[Luigi Zanasi]

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 23:20:51 GMT, Larry Jaques scribbled

Technically, I already have three eyes: my functioning right eye, my atrophied original left eye and a plastic corneo-scleral prosthesis (AKA glass eye). So a bifocal monocle would make me a 5-EYES!

Hey, I never thought of Cyclops as one-eye-talians before! Ulysses did find Polyphemus in Sicily, IIRC. Cool!

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" for real email address

[todd]

I'll may be flying in February with a 10 month old and a 2 1/2 year old (not to mention my wife). Will ear plugs work in my case as well?

todd